FILE PHOTO: Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani waves as he arrives for the premiere of the movie “Valentino: The Last Emperor” directed by Matt Tyrnauer of the U.S at La Fenice Theatre in Venice August 28, 2008. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
A mix of carmine and scarlet, with a hint of orange — a new hue inspired by an elderly woman at Barcelona’s opera house whose elegance struck a young Valentino Garavani — became one of the most recognisable colours in fashion.
Introduced in 1959 with a strapless cocktail dress of draped tulle, the shade came to be known as “Valentino red” and became the signature of the Italian fashion house that bears his name.
“I think a woman dressed in red is always wonderful, she is the perfect image of a heroine,” Valentino wrote in his 2022 book Rosso (Red). He included at least one red dress in every collection.
Valentino, one of Italy’s leading fashion designers, died on Monday at his residence in Rome, his foundation said. He was 93. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
‘I love beauty’
Valentino ranked alongside Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld as among the last of a generation of designers from an era before fashion became a highly commercial industry driven as much by financiers and marketers as by couturiers.
He was the first Italian designer to show on Paris’s exclusive haute couture catwalks.
A film enthusiast, Valentino dreamed of dressing “the beautiful ladies of the silver screen”, including 1950s Hollywood stars Lana Turner and Judy Garland. He later designed Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding gown and became a favourite of Oscar winners such as Sharon Stone and Penelope Cruz.
His romantic designs, often deceptively simple, were marked by intricate craftsmanship.
“I love beauty,” Valentino said. “It is not my fault. And I know what women want: they want to be beautiful.”
The designer, who also dressed Jackie Kennedy, built a global business empire under his name before selling it ahead of his retirement in 2008.
‘You need a lot of patience’
Valentino was an only child, born into a well-to-do family in Voghera, south of Milan, where his father ran an electrical supplies company.
After showing an early interest in drawing and couture, he studied fashion in Milan and Paris, apprenticing under designer Jean Dessès. He returned to Italy in 1960 and opened his own fashion house in Rome.
That same year, Elizabeth Taylor wore a white Valentino gown to the premiere of Spartacus.
Also in 1960, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti in a Roman café. Giammetti became his business partner and life companion, overseeing the commercial side of the company while Valentino focused on design.
“To share life with a person for your whole existence — every moment, joy, pain, enthusiasm, disappointment — is something that cannot be defined,” Valentino said of Giammetti.
FILE PHOTO: Veteran Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani poses during the opening of his exhibition at the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome July 6, 2007. Valentino will snub Paris and unveil his latest haute couture collection in Rome to mark his 45th year in the city where he got his start. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (ITALY)/File Photo
“To be with Valentino as a friend, as a lover and as an employee is a bit the same: you need a lot of patience,” Giammetti said in the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor.
Valentino’s georgette fabrics, chiffon ruffles and ornate embellishments, including the exclusive budellini technique using hand-rolled wool wrapped in silk, earned him numerous awards, including France’s highest civilian honour in 2006.
“Fame and fortune didn’t change him,” Giammetti said at the time. “He is still the little guy I met 45 years ago.”
Superstitious and introverted, Valentino loved chocolate, skiing and his pugs. In a 2017 interview, he said he feared death.
‘The perfect moment to say Adieu’
In 2007, Rome hosted lavish celebrations marking Valentino’s decades-long career, culminating in exhibitions, dinners and parties attended by thousands of guests from around the world.
Months later, he announced his retirement.
“I have decided that this is the perfect moment to say adieu to the world of fashion,” he said. “As the English say, I would like to leave the party when it is still full.”
His final catwalk show took place in Paris in January 2008.
The Valentino fashion house was acquired by Qatari investment fund Mayhoola for 700 million euros in 2012. French luxury group Kering bought a 30% stake in 2023, with an option to take full control from 2026, later deferred to 2028 at the earliest.
Valentino and Giammetti remained active patrons of the arts. Their foundation opened the PM23 gallery in central Rome in 2025, next to the Valentino headquarters. Its inaugural exhibition, Horizons/Red, fittingly focused on the colour most closely associated with the designer.
“Red isn’t just a colour,” Giammetti said at the opening. “It’s a symbolic and aesthetic force.”
